Employees Recognized at TCMH
December 11, 2020
New 1-Hour COVID-19 Test Available at TCMH
December 18, 2020
Amy Mills, RN, TCMH Fall 2020 DAISY Award recipient.
Texas County Memorial Hospital honored Michelle Bergonzoni of Success and Amy Mills of Houston with a DAISY Award during a ceremony held for all of the DAISY Award nominees on Thursday, December 17. Two awards were given to make up for DAISY Award ceremony that was cancelled in the spring due to COVID.
Michelle Bergonzoni, RN, TCMH Spring 2020 DAISY Award recipient.
Bergonzoni is a registered nurse (RN) in the emergency department, but received the award from a day that she worked for TCMH Home Health of the Ozarks. Mills is an RN in the intensive care unit. The DAISY (Diseases Attacking the Immune System) Award is the highest recognition award for an RN and licensed practical nurse (LPN) at TCMH.
The DAISY Award is part of the non-profit DAISY Foundation of Glen Ellen, CA. The Foundation was established by the family of J. Patrick Barnes. Patrick died at the age of 33 in late 1999 from complications of idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura, a little known but not uncommon auto-immune disease.
The care Patrick and his family received from nurses while Patrick was ill and hospitalized inspired the DAISY Award as a way of thanking nurses for making a profound difference in the lives of their patients and patient families. The DAISY Award recipient must be nominated for a specific act of extraordinary care that was experienced by the person making the nomination.
Bergonzoni received the DAISY Award from the nomination she received from fellow TCMH employee, Tim DeHart, driver for the Medivan, which he submitted in recognition of the care he watched a patient receive from Bergonzoni after he drove them home following their discharge from the hospital.
In the nomination, DeHart explained how Bergonzoni took great efforts to make sure the patient’s needs were met.
“The patient did not know how they was going to take care of them self and Michelle made sure that they would have all of their meals prepared, someone to help them around their house and that they were going to receive the nursing care that they needed,” DeHart said.
“Michelle recognized the patient’s fears and quickly got them all the help and care that they needed. She probably does this all of the time, but it was the first time I was involved,” DeHart said. “She is impressive.”
Mills received the DAISY Award from the nomination she received from fellow TCMH employee, Carol Turner, RN, which she submitted in recognition of the care she watched a patient receive from Mills while she was working in the intensive care unit.
In the nomination, Turner explained how Mills went above and beyond throughout an entire weekend to calm and support a patient who had COVID, and to keep them off the ventilator.
“Amy was able to use FaceTime to call the patient’s spouse so they could talk to each other while the patient was in isolation. I can’t really write how hard she worked for this patient and how much she cared about them,” Turner said. “She spent a lot of time in the room with the patient, trying to comfort them.”
Turner explained that the patient with COVID passed away, but she feels that the care Mills provided helped the patient and their family have some quality time before they were gone.
Bergonzoni and Mills each received a special DAISY Award pin; a recognition certificate, a bouquet of fresh flowers, and a hand-carved stone sculpture called “A Healer’s Touch.”
An additional recognition ceremony for Bergonzoni and Mills in their respective departments at TCMH will feature cinnamon rolls because Cinnabon cinnamon rolls were a personal favorite food of Patrick Barnes. During his hospitalization he always shared the cinnamon rolls with the nursing staff.
Christin Sharp, LPN, medical office complex; Marybeth Casper, RN, Home Health of the Ozarks; Shelly Rust, RN, medical surgical department; Clarissa Drake, LPN, medical surgical department; Chasity March, LPN, medical surgical department; Tara Grandstaff, RN, obstetrics; Judy Vernon, RN, obstetrics; Krystal Barton, RN, obstetrics; Shanda Melton, RN, emergency department; April Crites, RN, Home Health of the Ozarks; Jerid Land, RN, emergency department; Delilah Jones, RN, intensive care unit and Bayle Herrin, LPN, medical surgical department also received special recognition and a DAISY pin for being nominated for DAISY Awards at TCMH.
TCMH currently employs 87 nurses. The nurses work in many departments of the hospital—medical surgical, obstetrics, emergency room, surgery, intensive care, home health, hospice, and clinics.